Kansas extract from
John Reed Swanton's
The Indian Tribes of North America

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(Kansas) Extract from

The Indian Tribes of North America

by John R. Swanton
Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 145—1953
[726 pages—Smithsonian Institution]
(pp. 260-265)

Kansas

Apache, see Jicarilla.

Arapaho. The Arapaho ranged at one time over much of the western part of this State. (See Wyoming.)

Cherokee. By the terms of the Treaty of New Echota, the Cherokee obtained title to lands in southeastern Kansas, part in one block known as the "Neutral land," and the rest in a strip along the southern boundary of the State. These were re-ceded to the United States Government in 1866. (See Tennessee.)

Cheyenne. Like the Arapaho they at one time ranged over the western part of the State. (See South Dakota.)

Chippewa. In 1836 two bands of Chippewa living in Michigan and known as the Swan Creek and Black River bands were given a tract of territory on Osage River, Kansas. They arrived in 1839. In 1866 they agreed to remove to the Cherokee country in what is now Oklahoma and to unite with that tribe. A small number of families of Chippewa living west of Lake Michigan accompanied the Prairie Potawatomi to southwestern Iowa, but they were either absorbed by the Potawatomi or subsequently separated from them. (See Minnesota.)

Comanche. They ranged over the western part of the State. (See Texas.)

Delaware. A strip of land in northeastern Kansas was granted to the Delaware in 1829 and was again surrendered by treaties made in 1854, 1860, and 1886. In 1867 they agreed to take up their residence with the Cherokee in Oklahoma. Four sections of land were, however, confirmed to a body of Munsee ("Christian Indians"), who in turn sold it in 1857. This sale was confirmed by the United States Government in 1858, and a new home was found for these Indians among the Swan Creek and Black River Chippewa whom they accompanied to the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma in 1866. Nevertheless, a few Munsee have remained in the State. (See New Jersey.)

Foxes. The Foxes lived for a time on a reservation in eastern Kansas but about 1859 returned to Iowa. (See Wisconsin.)

Illinois. The remnants of these people were assigned a reservation about the present Paola in 1832. In 1867 they removed to the northeastern corner of the present Oklahoma, where they received lands which had formerly belonged to the Quapaw. (See Illinois.)

Iowa. This tribe was placed on a reservation in northeastern Kansas in 1836, and part of them continued in this State and were allotted land here in severalty, while the rest went to Oklahoma. (See Iowa.)

Iroquois. Lands were set aside in Kansas in 1838 for some Iroquois, part of the Munsee, and remnants of Mahican and southern New England Indians but only a few of the Indians involved moved to them. They were later declared forfeited, and the rights of 32 bona fide Indian settlers were purchased in 1873. (See Seneca and also New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.)

Jicarilla. This was one of the so-called Apache tribes. They lived in Colorado and New Mexico and ranged over parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. (See Colorado.)

Kansa. Name derived from that of one of the major subdivisions; a shortened form Kaw is about equally current. Also called:

Alähó, Kiowa name.
Guaes, in Coronado narratives, thought to be this tribe.
Hútañga, own name
Móhtawas, Comanche name, meaning "without a lock of hair on the forehead."
Ukase, Fox name.

Connections.The Kansa belonged to the Siouan linguistic stock and constituted, with the Osage, Quapaw, Omaha, and Ponca a distinct subgroup called by Dr. J. O. Dorsey (1897) Dhegiha.

Location.They were usually on some part of the Kansas River, which derives its name from them. (See also Nebraska and Oklahoma.)

Villages.—

Bahekhube, near a mountain south of Kansas River, Kans.
Cheghulin, 2 villages; (1) on the south side of Kansas River, and (2) on a tributary of Kansas River, on the north side east of Blue River.
Djestyedje, on Kansas River near Lawrence.
Gakhulin, location uncertain.
Gakhulinulinbe, near the head of a southern tributary of Kansas River.
Igamansabe, on Big Blue River.
Inchi, on Kansas River.
Ishtakhechiduba, on Kansas River.
Manhazitanman, on Kansas River near Lawrence.
Manhazulin, on Kansas River.
Manhazulintanman, on Kansas River.
Manyinkatuhuudje, at the mouth of Big Blue River.
Neblazhetama, on the west bank of the Mississippi River a few miles above the mouth of Missouri River, a few miles above mouth of Missouri River, in the present Missouri.
Niudje, on Kansas River, about 4 miles above the site of Kansas City, Mo.
Padjegadjin, on Kansas River.
Pasulin, on Kansas River.
Tanmangile, on Big Blue River.
Waheheyingetseyabe, location uncertain.
Wazhazhepa, location uncertain.
Yuzhemakancheubukhpaye, location uncertain.
Zandjezhinga, location uncertain.
Zandzhulin, at Kaw Agency, Indian Territory, in 1882.
Zhanichi, on Kansas River.
History.According to tradition, the Kansa and the others of the same group originated on Ohio River, the Kansa separating from the main body at the mouth of Kansas River. If the Guaes of Coronado were the Kansa, the tribe was first heard of by white men in 1541. During at least a part of the eighteenth century, they were on Missouri River above the mouth of the Kansas, but Lewis and Clark met them on the latter stream They occupied several villages in succession along Kansas River until they settled at Council Grove, on Neosho River, in the present Morris County, where a reservation was set aside for them by the United States Government in 1846, when they ceded the rest of their lands. They remained on this reservation until 1873 when it was sold and another reserve purchased for them in Oklahoma next to the Osages. Their lands have now been allotted to them in severalty.

Population.Mooney (1928) estimates a Kansa population of 3,000 in 1780. In 1702 Iberville estimated 1,500 families. Lewis and Clark (1804) give 300 men. In 1815 there were supposed to be about 1,500 in all, and in 1822, 1,850. In 1829 Porter estimated 1,200, but the population as given by the United States Indian Office for 1843 was 1,588. After this time, however, the tribe lost heavily through epidemics and in 1905 was returned at only 209. The census of 1910 gave 238, but the United States Indian Office Report of 1923 gave 420. The census of 1930 returned 318. In 1937 the number was given as 515.

Connection in which they have become noted.The Kansa will be remembered particularly from the fact that they have given their name to Kansas River and the State of Kansas, and secondarily to Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kans. It is also applied to places in Walker County, Ala.; Edgar County, Ill.; Seneca County Ohio; Seneca and Delaware Counties, Okla.; and in the form Kaw, to a village in Kay County, Okla., and a station out of the Kansas City, Mo., P.O. Kansasville is in Racine County, Wis.

Kickapoo. A reservation was granted this tribe in southeastern Kansas in 1832, and though it was progressively reduced in area, part of them have continued to live there down to the present time. (See Wisconsin.)

Kiowa. Signifying (in their own language) "principal people." Also called:

Be'shiltcha, Kiowa Apache name.
Datumpa'ta, Hidatsa name, perhaps a form of Wi'tapähä'tu below.
Gahe'wa, Wichita and Kichai name.
Ko'mpabi'anta, Kiowa name, meaning "large tipi flaps."
Kwu'da, old name for themselves, meaning "going out."
Manrhoat, mentioned by La Salle, perhaps this tribe.
Na'la'ni, Navaho name. including southern plains tribes generally, but particularly the Comanche and Kiowa.
Ni'chihine'na, Arapaho name, meaning "river man."
Quichuan, given by La Harpe (1831) and probably this tribe.
Te'pda', ancient name for themselves, meaning "coming out."
Tepki'nägo, own name, meaning "people coming out."
Tideing Indians, Lewis and Clark (1904-5).
Vi'täpätúi, name used by the Sutaio.
Wi'tapahatu, Dakota name, meaning "island butte people." (The Cheyenne name was similar.)

Connections.Though long considered a separate linguistic stock, the researches of J.P. Herrington make it evident that the Kiowa were connected with the Tanoan stock as the Kiowa-Tanoan stock and probably with the Shoshonean stock also.

Location.The best-known historic location of these people was a plot of territory including contiguous parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. (See also Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.)

Subdivisions.—The bands constituting their camp circle, beginning on the east and passing round by the south were: Kata, Kogui, Kaigwu, Kingep, Semat (i.e., Apache), and Kongtalyui.

History.According to tradition, the Kiowa at one time lived at the head of Missouri River near the present Virginia City. Later they moved down from the mountains and formed an alliance with the Crows but were gradually forced south by the Arapaho and Cheyenne, while the Dakota claim to have driven them from the Black Hills. They made peace with the Arapaho and Cheyenne in 1840 and afterward acted with them. When they reached the Arkansas, they found the land south of it claimed by the Comanche. These people were at first hostile, but after a time peace was made between the two tribes, the Kiowa passed on toward the south, and the two ever after acted as allies. Together they constantly raided Mexican territory, advancing as far south as Durango. The Kiowa were among the most bitter enemies of the Americans. They were placed on a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma in 1868 along with the Comanche and Kiowa Apache and have now been allotted lands in severalty.

Population.Mooney (1928) estimates that there were 2,000 in 1780. In 1905 their population was 1,166; the census of 1910 gave it as 1,126, and the United States Indian Office Report for 1923, 1,679, including the Kiowa Apache. The census of 1930 returned 1,050, but in 1937 the United States Office of Indian Affairs reported 2,263.

Connection in which they have become noted.The Kiowa were one of the leading tribes on the southern Plains and were surpassed only by the Comanche and Apache in the raids which they undertook into Mexico. The name has become affixed to counties in Colorado and Kansas, a creek in Colorado; and small places in Barber County, Kans.; Pittsburg County, Okla.; and Elbert County, Colo.

Kiowa Apache. The name is derived from that of the Kiowa and from the circumstance that they spoke a dialect related to those of the better-known Apache tribes, though they had no other connection with them. Also called:
Bad-hearts, by Long (1823). (See Kaskaias.)
Cancey or Kantsi, meaning "liars," applied by the Caddo to all Apache of the Plains, but often to the Lipan.
Essequeta, a name given by the Kiowa and Comanche to the Mescalero Apache, sometimes, but improperly, applied to this tribe.
Gáta'ka, Pawnee name.
Gina's, Wichita name.
Gû'ta'k, Omaha and Ponca name.
K'á-pätop, Kiowa name, meaning "knife whetters."
Kaskaias, possibly intended for this tribe, translated "bad hearts."
Kisínahis, Kichai name.
Mûtsíana-täníu, Cheyenne name, meaning "whetstone people."
Nadíisha-déna, own name, meaning "our people."
Pacer band of Apache, H. R. Doc.
Prairie Apaches, common name.
Sádalsómte-k`íägo, Kiowa name, meaning "weasel people."
Tâ'gugála, Jemez name for Apache tribes including Kiowa Apache.
Tagúi, an old Kiowa name.
Tágukerish, Pecos name for all Apache.
Tashin, Comanche name for all Apache.
Tha`ká-hine'na, Arapaho name, meaning "saw-fiddle man."
Yabipais Natagé, Garces Diary (1776).

Connections.The Kiowa Apache belonged to the Athapascan linguistic family, their nearest relatives being the Jicarilla and Lipan (Hoijer).

Location.They have been associated with the Kiowa from the earliest traditional period. (See also Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.)

History.The first historical mention of the Kiowa Apache is by La Salle in 1681 or 1682, who calls them Gattacka, the term by which they are known to the Pawnee. As intimated above, their history was in later times the same as that of the Kiowa, and they occupied a definite place in the Kiowa camp circle. For 2 years only, 1865-67, they were at their own request detached from the Kiowa and adjoined to the Cheyenne and Arapaho, on account of the unfriendly attitude of the Kiowa toward the Whites.

Population.Mooney (1928) gives an estimate of 300 Kiowa Apache as of 1780, adopting the estimate made by Lewis and Clark in 1805. In 1891 their population was 325, but like the associated tribes they suffered heavily from measles in 1892 and in 1905 there were only 155 left. The census of 1910 returned 139, that of 1930, 184, and in 1937 they appear to have increased to 340 but other Apache may be included.

Connection in which they have become noted.The Kiowa Apache are remarkable merely as an example of a tribe incorporated into the social organism of another tribe of entirely alien speech and origin.

Miami. In 1832 the Miami subdivisions known as Piankashaw and Wea were assigned lands along with the Illinois in Eastern Kansas. In 1840 the rest of the Miami were granted lands in the immediate neighborhood but just south, and all but one band removed there from Indiana. In 1854 they ceded part of this territory and in 1867 accompanied the Illinois to the present Oklahoma. (See Indiana.)

Missouri. The remnant of this tribe accompanied the Oto when they lived in this State. (See Missouri.)

Munsee. A band of Munsee or "Christian Indians" owned land in Kansas between 1854 and 1859. (See Delaware in New Jersey, etc.)

Osage. The southeastern part of Kansas was claimed by the Osage and was ceded by them to the United States Government in treaties made in 1825, 1865, and 1870. (See Missouri.)

Oto. The Oto were on the eastern border of Kansas several times during their later history. (See Nebraska.)

Ottawa. In 1831 two bands of Ottawa were granted lands on Marais des Cygnes or Osage River. They relinquished these in 1846 and in 1862 agreed to allotment of land in severalty, giving up their remaining lands. Further treaties regarding these were made in 1867 and 1872. A few families of Ottawa accompanied the Prairie Potawatomi when they removed from Wisconsin to Iowa, but they were soon absorbed or else scattered. Ottawa bands called Ottawa of Blanchard's Fork and Ottawa of Roche de Boeuf occupied lands in Kansas between 1832 and 1865 when they moved to Oklahoma. (See Michigan.)

Pawnee. A part of the Pawnee occupied the valley of the Republican Fork of Kansas River. (See Nebraska.)

Potawatomi. In 1837 the United States Government entered into a treaty with five bands of Potawatomi living in the State of Indiana by which it was agreed to convey to them by patent a tract of country on Osage River, southwest of the Missouri, in the present State of Kansas. This was set apart the same year and the Indians, the Potawatomi of the Woods, moved into it in 1840, but they ceded it back in 1846 and were given a reserve between the Shawnee and the Delaware, in the present Shawnee County, which they occupied in 1847. By a series of treaties, culminating in the Treaty of Chicago, 1833, the Potawatomi west of Lake Michigan surrendered their lands and received a large tract in southwestern Iowa. They were accompanied by a few Chippewa and Ottawa. In 1846 this reserve was re-ceded to the United States Government and in 1847-48 the Indians, now known as the Prairie Potawatomi, moved to lands in Kansas just east of the lands of the Potawatomi of the Woods. Michigan Potawatomi did not come to this place after 1850. About the end of the Civil War some of the Prairie band moved back to Wisconsin but the greater part of them remained and accepted lands in severalty. In 1869 the Potawatomi of the Woods began a movement to secure lands in Oklahoma, and by 1871 most of them had gone thither. (See Michigan.)

Quapaw. Between 1833 and 1867 lands in the southeastern tip of Kansas belonged to their reserve in Indian Territory (Oklahoma), but in the latter year they coded this back to the Government. (See Arkansas.)

Sauk. After leaving Iowa, the Sauk and Fox Indians occupied a reserve in the eastern part of Kansas, but about 1859 the Foxes returned to Iowa, and in 1867 the Sauk ceded their Kansas territories and moved to Oklahoma. (See Wisconsin.)

Seneca. Seneca Indians were joint owners with other tribes of land in the extreme southwestern part of Kansas. They ceded this to the United States Government in 1867. (See New York.)

Shawnee. In 1825 the Shawnee residing in Missouri received a grant of land along the south side of Kansas River, west of the boundary of Missouri. In 1831 they were joined by another body of Shawnee who had formerly lived at Wapaghkonnetta and on Hog Creek, Ohio. In 1854 nearly all of this land was re-ceded to the United States Government and the tribe moved to Indian Territory, the present Oklahoma. (See Tennessee.)

Wyandot. The Wyandot purchased land in eastern Kansas on Missouri River from the Delaware in 1843 and parted with it again in 1850. A few Wyandot also held title to land along with other tribes on the border of Oklahoma and re-ceded it along with them in 1867. (See Ohio.)